summer theatre design technology & 2015 Wood and Canvas By Margaret Mitchell (and Rabbit Glue) in the Modern World Antwerp’s historically significant Bourla theatre trapped between the past and future he municipal opera house of Antwerp, the Bourla Schouwburg, is caught between its past and its future—lodged in a kind of purga- “With two fingers, all space tory between its great historical significance and the desire to keep the theater as a vital venue for modern companies. For historians, can move.”—Jean-Guy Lecat designers, and technicians who have crawled through the pristine restored substages and lofts of the Castle Theatre at Český Krum- Tlov, or in the Slottsteater at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, the Bourla backstage is a sharp contrast, with five stories of machinery above and below the stage. She is a dying giantess, a vast and impressive salle des machines shrouded in cobwebs and theatre design & technology summer 2015 13 Image B Image A Image C Image E Image A: The lowest sub stage machinery with large drums and shafts. Image B: Fly loft with work bridges. Image C: Upper level fly loft. Image D: Winches below the stage. Image E: Chariots of the highest sub stage level. and reconfiguring the auditorium. The feasibility study was not publically shared; however, stage designers and technicians in Image D Antwerp became aware of the proposals within the document. In the wake of a growing trend across Europe to replace his- toric machinery with modern automated systems, artists and 22 years of neglect. Rain comes in through holes in the roof. technicians began to speak openly about the possible dismem- Many of the floorboards are unsafe for passage. The Bourla’s berment of the opera house. The Bourla Schouwburg is one winches, drums, axles, elevators, traps, and chariots are intact of the very few public theaters with surviving original wooden and asleep, their idle ropes hanging in tangles or tatters. machinery in Europe; it is the last theater of its kind in Belgium. In 2013, Antwerp city officials conducted a feasibility Collisions of values and visions, of dreams and practicali- study at the request of Het Toneelhuis, the theatre company ties came to a dramatic head at the symposium “Wood and Can- currently residing at the Bourla. This study investigated the vas (and rabbit glue) in the Modern World,” held in Antwerp modernization of the space resulting in the desire to gut the in June 2014. The symposium was organized by OISTAT and 181-year-old theater by replacing the original wooden machin- TheatrEurope members who share an intense desire to save ery with automated rigging systems, eliminating the raked deck, the wooden machinery of the Bourla theater. The conference theatre design & technology 14 summer 2015 was the apotheosis of a small crusade, led by Ivo Kersmaek- ers, Jerôme Maeckelbergh, and Peter McKinnon who gathered together some of the most important minds in theater archi- tecture, restoration, and curation in the world. (Visit http:// woodandcanvas.info.yorku.ca/list-of-papers/ for the full list of conference papers.) The ultimate goal of the gathering was to debate the fu- ture of the Bourla, and perhaps even persuade city officials and Het Toneelhuis members to revoke their plans for the theater’s demise. Symposium participants were graciously led by the technical director of Het Toneelhuis, Freek Boey, through the backstage, substage, fly loft, and auditorium so participants could see firsthand the beautiful 1993 front-of- house renovations as well as the state of the wooden machin- ery (see photos at left). HET TONEELHUIS’S PARADOX Ensconced in the Bourla, Het Toneelhuis finds itself experi- encing a paradox. The desire for cutting-edge scenography practices is confounded by a space designed for large musical entertainments in the mid-19th century. The building impedes the company’s contemporary technical needs. The raked stage and the lack of a state-of-the-art fly system are perceived to be financial obstacles because these features make the venue dif- Het Toneelhuis’ young technical staff is confronted by old technology for ficult or impossible for incoming tours. Het Toneelhuis is eli- which adequate training no longer readily exists. The extensive chariot gible to receive government subsidies for touring. and pole system, traps, and old fly loft have all become obstacles in The raked stage complicates the design of scenery for the their states of neglect. company because the theaters to which they could tour have flat floors. Likewise, productions coming into the Bourla are confronted with a raked stage and few fly bars. The Bourla has out, this proposal would alter the Bourla’s auditorium drasti- 24 fly bars and Het Toneelhuis prefers 72 automated fly bars cally. The relationship of the raked deck to the auditorium’s pit, for touring possibilities. The extant fly system, which was in- boxes, and balconies is in delicate balance for the retention of stalled between the wooden machinery in 1993, is no longer optimal sightlines. Gutting the substage and flattening the deck up to code. Het Toneelhuis also wants a 14-by-14 meter playing in the Bourla are excellent examples of renovation decisions space. However, the opening of the proscenium is 10 meters, that will cause a landslide loss for the integrity of the theater. 53 centimeters. The size and functionality of the playing space and fly system, the logistical touring problems, and the loss of RESTORATION CONSIDERATIONS government funding are all real concerns for the resident com- Preservation, restoration, and renovation are related but po- pany. tentially diverse activities. While preservation is the act of Education about the theater and lack of workshop facilities preserving and maintaining the original or current state, and are also difficult realities for Het Toneelhuis. The young techni- restoration is the act of restoring something to a state at a par- cal staff is confronted by old technology for which adequate ticular point in history, renovation refers to bringing to a state training no longer readily exists. The extensive chariot and pole of repair and usefulness. It may or may not involve restoration system, traps, and old fly loft have all become obstacles in their or preservation. states of neglect. Het Toneelhuis and city officials wish to re- The charming 160-seat Palace Theater in ČČeský Krumlov, place all the wooden machinery with automated systems. The built around 1683, closed for restoration 1966, and reopened company hopes to build workshops, offices, and rehearsal or in 1993, is a beautiful example of careful consideration of ex- storage spaces beneath the stage floor. The proposed flattening tant artifacts and architecture. Led by head curator Dr. Pavel of the deck would also largely destroy the auditorium’s sight- Slavko, the staff, scholars, and students at ČČeský Krumlov have lines, and to solve this new problem, Het Toneelhuis proposes studied in detail the machinery, lighting conditions, equipment, that the pit floor extend in a rake to the first balcony. If carried scenery, props and costumes. theatre design & technology summer 2015 15 Jiří Bláha, an expert on Czech historical theaters (and the ingly restored walls in the auditorium are damaged from the designs of Josef Platzer) says that although preservation and oils on the hands of visitors. restoration were the primary focus of the work at the Palace Both the Palace Theatre and the Slottsteater are living Theater, some restoration details proved unfeasible due to museums for stage technology, design, and performance. The modern fire and safety codes. Some aspects of the theater were impact of the possible wear and tear of the performances and reconstructed to simulate rather than reproduce historic cir- general human interaction in the buildings has been consid- cumstances. The desired modern functions of the building and ered in relationship to preservation needs. its contents informed the renovation decisions. Dr. David Wilmore, technical director, founder of The- The beautiful 249-year-old Slottsteater at Drottningholm atresearch, and foremost restoration expert and consultant is similar. In order to protect the extant original sets, all the from the United Kingdom, visited the Bourla in the 1980s, and sets currently used for performances in the Slottsteater are du- with colleague John Earl, wrote an article appealing for its res- plicates, notes Torsten Nobling, an architect for the renovation toration. “The machinery as a whole is in an excellent state of and restoration. For obvious reasons, fire has been replaced repair and would require comparatively little work to restore with electric lighting, and modern handrails were installed to it to full working order,” said Wilmore 28 years ago. “It would comply with current building codes. Unfortunately, tourist traf- however seem quite feasible to install all the modern technol- fic has also impacted the building; some areas of the painstak- ogy and fire precaution equipment in a sympathetic manner, A Brief History OF THE BOURLA machinery designed by Humanité Philastre (1830- 1847) and Charles Cambon (1802-1875) under ierre Bruno Bourla (1783-1866), the city the supervision of Bourla. architect of Antwerp, began designing the Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th Ptheater (known then as the Grand Théâtre or century, language preferences, government poli- the Théâtre Royal Français) between 1827 and tics, and artistic innovations influenced audiences 1829. In 1860, Bourla hired Lodewijk Baeckel- in Antwerp. The French language, the official lan- mans (1835-1871) to make drawings of the the- guage of Belgium between 1830 and 1938, was ater, which are now housed in the archives of the associated with the bourgeoisie. However, Flem- Museum Vleeshuis. Baeckelmans’ drawings help ish, a language almost identical to Dutch, was the us to understand the subsequent renovation of the language of the people.